Morning in the Chateau
by Rosepixie
Summary: A series of very short stories about characters from Disney's Cinderella in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.
1. Anastasia

Anastasia was dancing with someone she couldn't fully make out. He was tall and his smile was sweet and genuine in a way she rarely saw. He whirled her around the polished floor of the chateau vestibule and she laughed for happiness.

\- C - C - C -

And then it shattered as Drizella's scream in the next room ripped Anastasia from her dream. Her sister was bellowing at the top of her voice for Cinderella and probably pulling the servants' bell clear out of the wall. Anastasia knew that there was no chance she would get back to sleep now.

She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms with a large, noisy yawn. It was music day. When she was little, music day had been her favorite day of the week. By the time she was eight, though, her mother and sister had decided that her voice was unsalvageable and forbidden her from ever singing again. She had wanted to learn to play the pianoforte, but Mother had decided that her hands were too small to ever play well and refused to teach her. Instead, she had been given a horrid old flute that pinched her fingers and only reluctantly made tinny, irritating sounds. It had been a long time since she had not dreaded music day.

Anastasia glanced at the flute case resting on a small stool across the room. She longingly imagined throwing it out the window. Before she could try to work up the courage to do it, though, there was a polite knock at the door.

"Come in," she called. It could only be Cinderella. Her mother and sister never knocked at all, much less knocked politely.

The servant girl came in with a breakfast tray in her hands.

"Good morning, Anastasia," she murmured as she sat down the tray.

"I wish it was a good morning," Anastasia grumbled. Cinderella's cheerful greetings always irritated her and made her behave rudely, but it was only to Cinderella, so it hardly mattered.

With a nod, her stepsister slipped out of the room, leaving Anastasia to munch grumpily on her toast and wish she belonged to a different family.


	2. Lucifer

Lucifer lay curled in his bed dreaming. Now, you might imagine that he would dream cute kitty dreams, but you would be wrong. Lucifer's dreams were anything but cute.

Cinderella cracked the door to her stepmother's bedroom and called for the cat. This woke him up before the dream could take a really disturbing turn.

Lucifer hated being woken up at any time, but he was especially grumpy to have the overly-cheerful maid wake him up from such an enjoyable dream. His reaction was to turn his backside to the door and settle in to attempt to go back to sleep. This had never worked in the past, but he lived in eternal expectation that the humans around him would come to their sense and begin behaving rationally.

No such luck today, though. Cinderella wouldn't accept his refusal and crept into the room to poke him with her shoe. Her shoe! Lucifer was indignant.

"Lucifer," the maid hissed at him, "get up."

He knew that it wasn't likely to help if he ignored her (especially if Lady Tremaine woke up), so Lucifer slowly unfolded himself and languidly flowed out of his bed. He was moving now, but crept as slowly as possible towards the door, just for the pleasure of annoying Cinderella.

Annoying Cinderella was one of the greatest pleasures of his life. She never lost her patience with anyone else, but once in a while, she snapped at Lucifer. He always found it highly satisfying.

The easiest way to irritate Cinderella was by chasing those mice that she was so attached to. Other mice were much easier to catch (they didn't cheat so much), but Lucifer was sure that Cinderella's mice would taste better. And he enjoyed upsetting her. She could yell at him, but he knew that Lady Tremaine wouldn't let the girl do anything more to him.

Sauntering casually down the stairs, Lucifer planned out his day. First, breakfast. Then maybe chase those mice around for a while. After that, a nap. He'd figure out the rest later.


	3. The Grand Duke

A valet gently shook the Grand Duke awake. He waved the attendant away, but he also sat up. He stretched his long arms and yawned audibly. With a look around the room, he nodded contentedly. Everything was peaceful and proper, just as he liked it.

Pushing the sumptuous coverlet away, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. The valet had been pushing open the heavy velvet draperies on the windows and securing them with silken tassels. The sun was streaming in the windows and brightening the room.

There was a bath already prepared for him by the warm fire, so the Duke pulled his nightshirt over his head, draped it over a chair, and stepped into the warm water. Leaning back against the towels draped over the side of the bath, the Grand Duke sighed contentedly.

The valet assisted the Duke as he completed his bath and went through the rest of his morning toilette in blessed silence. Once he was properly dressed and coiffed, the Grand Duke examined his reflection in a large looking glass on his wall. He straightened his sash and squared his shoulders before leaving the room to awaken the king.

The Grand Duke held his head high as he strode through the palace corridors towards the royal bedchamber. Servants passed him, but he studiously ignored them. When a gaggle of middle-aged noblewomen passed him giggling behind their hands, the Duke graciously bowed to them. The one on the left was quite pretty (and recently widowed, he knew).

When he reached the king's door he nodded to the guard and rapped smartly on the door. There was a faint mumble sound from within the room. With an indulgent smile, the Grand Duke pushed open the door.

"Time to wake up, Your Majesty!" he called as he entered the room.


	4. The Fairy Godmother

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother stretched her wings and shook out her blue robes as she stood up. She was traveling and had spent the night in the attic of a snug little house. She had been far away from the chateau when a bird arrived with the news of her goddaughter, sweet Cinderella. She knew that poor Lady Tremaine had died several years ago, but she had not been back to check on her little girl since shortly after that. At the time, she seemed fine with her father.

The bird had told her that poor Cinderella was very unhappy now, working as a servant in her own house. The Fairy Godmother had set off for France immediately to investigate this herself.

Seeing that the attic was empty, the Fairy Godmother few out of her cozy hiding spot and slipped back outside. She still had quite a journey ahead of her (fairies travel faster than humans, but crossing several countries still takes time) Before she set out, though, she wanted to get something good to eat.

Cautiously poking her head into the kitchen of the little farmhouse, she looked around for what might be available to eat. She was invisible to humans and to most animals unless she chose to show herself, but birds could see her all the time. Normally she didn't worry about that, but chickens were prone to panicking and worrying the humans, which she would prefer to avoid, and this farm had a goodly number of chickens.

Luckily, she managed to slip into the kitchen unseen and found a dish of fresh cream sitting out. Unconcerned about whatever purpose the farm family intended the cream for, the Fairy Godmother helped herself. She enjoyed cream very much and was careful not to spill any and make a mess on herself. It wouldn't do to arrive at the Tremaine chateau looking less than tidy.

Once she had drunk her fill, the Fairy Godmother decided to head out on her journey again. Barely noticing the panic she had started among the chickens as she left, she spread her wings and glided on her way. It was luckily a bright, clear day and flying would be easy enough. She was certain that if it stayed this clear she could make it to the chateau by nightfall and tomorrow she would watch how things went. She was reluctant to step in and interfere in the girl's life unless it was necessary, but she had promised the late Lady Tremaine that she would help Cinderella if she ever needed it.


End file.
